Transcript Unit 3: Ancient India - Davis School District

Classical Civilization Se Asia & India
Kingdoms of the Ganges
I. Foundations of Indian Civilization,
1500 B.C.E.-300 C.E.
• A. The Indian Subcontinent
– India has three topographical zones: (1) the
northern mountainous zone, (2) the Indus and
Ganges Basins, and (3) the peninsula.
– This geographical diversity has made it
difficult for any political power to unify all of
India for any great length of time
The Vedic Age
– 1. After the fall of the Indus Valley civ. IndoEuropean warriors, known as Aryans,
migrated to India.
– 2. The oral tradition light skinned tribes tell of
a struggle between themselves and the
darker-skinned Dravidian.
– 3.Vedic religion emphasized the worship of
male deities through sacrifice.
– 4. Belief in reincarnation that each
individual’s atman will be reborn in another
body after death.
– 5. Women could study lore and participate in
rituals, they could own land, and they married
in their middle or late teens.
• B.
Aryan Civilization
• Indo European people who migrated
across Europe and Asia.
• No Archeological record of early Aryans.
• Priests called Vedas kept oral stories that
were passed down for generations.
• The Vedas oral histories were written
down around 1500 B.C.E
Aryan Society
• Aryans loved fighting, drinking, and playing dice.
• The struggle of classes led to the creation of the
“varna” broken into four groups:
– 1.Brahmins or Priests.
– 2.Kshatriyas or Warriors.
– 3.Vaisyas or merchants, artists, farmers and
herders.
– 4. Untouchables, or Sudras or natives
– Later the four groups were divided by
economic status.
• Slowly castes developed subdividing the
people.
Aryan Religious Beliefs
• Aryans were polytheistic.
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Indra = God of War = Weapon Thunderbolt.
Varuna = God of Order.
Agni = God of Fire = Messenger.
Brahman = God of all things.
Mystics = People who seek spiritual things.
Rajahs = Elected warrior leaders.
The Rise of Janism
 C. Challenges to the Old Order: Jainism and Buddhism
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4.
1.
People who reacted against the rigid social hierarchy
went to the forest to achieve moksha, or liberation fro the
cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
2. Jainism was founded by Mahavira.
3. Jainism, founded by Mahavira (540-468 B.C.E.)
practiced non-violence and went to extremes not to kill
any living thing, even living naked and starving
themselves.
Others devoted themselves to occupations which do not
require one to kill
Buddhism
• The early life of Siddhartha Gautama was
spent in a palace surrounded by luxury.
• Prince Gautama married and had a son.
• Gautama was riding one day and came
across a dead man, a sick person, and an
old man.
• He asked: “why is there so much suffering in
life?”
• He sat under a tree for 48 days pondering
the mystery of life.
• he answered the question, his name
changed to Buddha. “the enlightened one.”
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5.
 He
concluded that to achieve nirvana-release
from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth a
person had to have moderate living, selfdiscipline, and rebirth.
 6. After the death of Buddha his followers
showed reverence for bodhisattvas and the
religion broke into the Mahayana school of
new beliefs, and the Theravada school of
original teachings.
Four Noble Truths
• All life is filled with pain and suffering.
• The cause of suffering is the desire for
things that are really illusions, such as
riches, power, and long life.
• The cure for suffering is to overcome
desire.
• Overcome desire by following the Eightfold
Path.
The Rise of Hinduism
• Hinduism combined the old vedic religion,
elements of Dravidian cultures such as personal
religious devotion, fertility rituals, and symbolism
along with elements of Buddhism.
• Hinduism has no founder but grew out of
many cultures and people.
• Brahman is the one god but people
worship him as thousands of different
gods.
Two new major Gods emerge:
Sacrifice became less important.
Vishnu the preserver.
Shiva the destroyer.
– 5. These gods and countless others were understood
manifestations of a single divine source.
– 6. Worship centered on temples and included puja.
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Hinduism
– 5. These gods and countless others were understood
manifestations of a single divine source.
– 6. Worship centered on temples and included puja.
Religious duties depended on gender, social status, and
age.
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Hinduism appealed to people’s need for a direct
connection.
Became more popular than Buddhism because of less
constraints.
• Bhagavad-Gita – Hindu’s sacred text:
Teaches duty over personal desires and ambitions.
• Karma deals with actions in this life that
affect his or her status in the next life.
• All existence is ranked. Humans are at
the top then comes animals, plants, and
rocks.
• Dharma is the duties that each class of
people must accomplish to progress.
• The Ganges – A sacred river to the Hindus
Buddhism and Hinduism
• Theravada: Followed the original
teachings of Buddha Mahayana: Worship
Buddha even though Buddha taught the
people not to worship him.
• Theraveda Buddhism was too austere to
have popular appeal, and Mahayana
Buddhism was so close to Hinduism that
its beliefs could easily be absorbed by the
larger religion
Buddhism and Hinduism Compared
• Both Buddhism and Hinduism believe in
the cycle of rebirth.
• Buddhism grew out of Hinduism.
• Both stress non-violence.
Ramayana
• The hero Rama must rescue Sita his
beautiful bride from the demon king
Ravana.
• The monkey general Hanuman helps
Rama rescue Sita.
• Rama = ideal king.
• Sita = ideal women.
Two Sects of Buddhism
• Theravada: Followed the original
teachings of Buddha closely.
• Mahayana: Worship Buddha even though
Buddha taught the people not to worship
him.
• Afterlife with many heavens and hells.
Decline of Buddhism in India
• Hinduism eventually absorbed some
Buddhist ideas.
• Hinduism added Buddha to their long list
of Gods.
• Muslim armies destroyed the few
remaining Buddhist centers of learning in
the North.